The Sounds of the Season: 2 Clarinets & Keyboard Book

Marlatt's arrangements respect the carol melodies while giving both clarinet parts meaningful material. The keyboard writing provides flexible support that a capable pianist can realize expressively without requiring virtuosic technique, making this collection genuinely usable for school holiday concerts and community performances rather than just a collection of simplified transcriptions.

The arrangements preserve the quiet reverence of carols like Silent Night and Gesu Bambino while bringing rhythmic buoyancy to pieces such as I Saw Three Ships and Ye Merry Gents. The musical color shifts across the eight selections, creating a program that feels curated rather than assembled from leftover stock.

This collection serves music programs looking for holiday repertoire that accommodates two clarinets rather than requiring a full ensemble. It works equally well for chamber programs within a school setting, community band holiday gigs, or church services where clarinet duets fit the liturgical context.

• Balance the two clarinet lines as though they're in conversation. The first player shouldn't automatically sit in front; listen for moments where the second clarinet carries the melodic weight and adjust dynamic weight accordingly.
• Establish the keyboard part early in rehearsals. The piano anchors harmonic color and gives the clarinetists a solid foundation, especially in the more sustained arrangements like Silent Night.
• Shape phrases by the text and carol structure rather than by measure lines. These are songs with centuries of phrasing tradition; let that inform your approach to breathing and line direction.
• Experiment with subtle tempo variation across the collection. Eight pieces in one program risk sounding uniform, so find the character that distinguishes each arrangement, some will benefit from gentler movement, others from forward energy.

Slot this as a duet feature within a larger holiday concert, or use individual pieces as interludes between larger ensemble numbers. The variety of moods and styles means you can program selections throughout the season rather than saving them all for December performances.

• Balancing two independent melodic lines while maintaining vertical alignment
• Phrasing carols based on harmonic rhythm and lyrical structure rather than notation
• Coordination with a keyboard partner, including listening for harmonic support
• Playing sustained melodic passages with consistent tone across dynamic changes
• Managing articulation choices to match the character of different carol arrangements